Adjustable feet for desks and the like



y 5, 1964 D. B. CRUIKSHANK 3,131,505

ADJUSTABLE FEET FOR DESKS AND THE LIKE Filed March 1, 1965 FIG 2 INVENTOR.

DONALD B. CRUIKSHANK BY ATTORNEIS United States Patent 3,131,505 ADJUSTABLE FEET FOR DESKS AND THE LIKE Donald B. Cruikshank, Pembroke, ()ntario, Canada, assignor to The Steel Equipment Company Limited, Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, a corporation of Canada Filed Mar. 1, 1963, Ser. No. 262,134 Claims priority, application Canada May 25, 1962 2 Claims. (Cl. 45-139) This invention relates to adjustable feet adapted to be used on hollow legs or supports for metallic furniture such as oifice desks, tables, etc. The use of this invention is not restricted to metallic office furniture as it may be used with equal success on the modern household type of aluminum furniture, the legs of which are constructed of extruded tubular metal.

Supporting surfaces for desks, tables and the like usually found on oflice and household floors are seldom surface perfect, but invariably have uneven or undulating portions on their surfaces, and as these undulations cannot be dampened out or controlled, it is often necessary to use levelling packing under one or more desk or table legs to eliminate teetering of the desk or table, and so give stability to the furniture under all normal conditions.

The load on a desk or table etc. should be evenly distributed on the legs of the same, and I have come to the conclusion that if adjustable feet could be fabricated to fit the several legs of desks, tables or other furniture, then these feet could be used to adjust the length of the legs to counteract any unevenness in the supporting surfaces of floor on which the furniture rests.

One of the objects of my invention is to construct adjustable feet to fit standard legs of desks or tables or other furniture, and to mount the feet on the legs so that each foot is capable of independent or individual adjustment vertically to counteract any uneveness in the supporting floor on which the furniture rests.

A further object of my invention is to form the adjustable feet to suit standard types of hollow legs for desks or tables or other furniture, and to conceal the adjusting mechanism of the feet within the said legs, so that when such legs are adjusted in length they will counteract any unevenness in the floor surface on which the desk or other furniture rests, with the top of the desk lying in a horizontal plane and with the weight of the desk being evenly distributed on the supporting legs.

Another object of my invention is to construct the feet so that when they are engaged with the lower open end of the supporting legs of furniture, there is no possibility of the feet becoming inadvertently disconnected or displaced, and the removal or disengagement of the feet from the legs can only take place by deliberate intention.

A further object still of my invention is to construct the feet of a material which is strong and durable and with a minimum of movable parts, and to mount these feet individually on each leg of the desk or other piece of furniture so that each foot may be individually adjusted to bring the length of the leg to the desired dimensions to eliminate or overcome any uneveness in the supporting floor surface on which the desk or other piece of furniture rests, and with the adjusting mechanism of each foot concealed within the confines of the hollow leg on which it is mounted, so that there is nothing visible to mar or distract from the line or aesthetic appearance of the desk or other furniture.

Other objects of the invention will be made clear as the specification develops.

So that the nature of my invention will be clearly understood, I have illustrated one form of my invention which I shall describe in detail, but I wish it to be understood that I do not limit my invention to this particular form but reserve the right to modify the structural parts of my invention within the scope of my appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a desk or table with my improved adjusting device mounted on each leg thereof.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section of part of a desk or table leg showing my improved adjusting device mounted therein.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional elevation of my adjustable foot device showing the adjusting mechanism mounted within the confines of the desk or table leg.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of my improved adjustable foot device for use on the hollow legs of desks, tables or other furniture.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a flat top desk or table, provided with tubular or hollow legs B, within the confines of which the adjustable foot member C is mounted. This foot member C consists of a guide 1 which in cross sectional shape is similar to the cross section of the leg B with which it co -acts, and the guide 1 is a driving fit into the leg B so that it is frictionally embraced by the inner lateral walls of the hollow leg.

The guide member 1 is provided with a central bore 2 which is vertically disposed, and the lower end of the guide is provided with a recess 3 which is concentric with the bore 2, and this recess receives a nut for a reason to be disclosed hereafter. The upper part of the bore 2 is square in cross section as is shown in FIGURE 4, while the remainder of the bore may be circular.

Within the bore 2 a bolt 4 is slidably mounted, and the upper end of the bolt is square in cross section as shown in FIGURE 4, so that while the bolt is axially movable in the bore, it is non-rotatable relatively thereto. The upper end of the bolt is enlarged as shown at 5 so that the downward axial movement of the bolt is limited by this enlargement which tightly engages the inner periphery of the squared portion of the bore. By reference to the drawing it will be seen that the enlargement on the upper end of the bolt has a downwardly disposed tapered peripheral wall.

It will be noted that the upper peripheral edge of the guide 1 is chamfered to facilitate entering or inserting the guide 1 into the lower end of its co-acting tubular leg B. The lower end of the guide 1 is formed with a peripheral flange 7 which engages the lower end of the leg B so that the position of the guide 1 within the leg B is posi tively controlled.

The bottom end of the bolt 4 is threaded, and this thread extends for an appreciable length of the bolt, and a nut 8 is threaded thereon. The lower end of the bolt 4 makes rivet or coined engagement with the foot 9 so that the foot is tightly secured to the bolt and this foot 9 is provided on its lower face with a cushion 10 formed of an artificial resin or of a hard rubber-like material which is firmly bonded to the under face of the foot 9.

When my device is in use a foot adapter is fitted to each leg B of the desk or table by pressing the guide 1 into frictional engagement with the inner wall-s of the tubular legs B, and the desk or table is then positioned on that portion of the floor surface which it is to occupy.

Initially all the feet are in their uppermost position being adjacent to the flanges 7 of their guide members 1. Should there be any irregularity or undulation in the floor surface, then the appropirate foot adjuster is manipulated to move it into contact with the floor surface by rotating the nut 8 on the threaded end of its co-acting bolt 4. Care should be taken that the surface of the desk or table is maintained in a horizontal plane during this adjustment.

When making this adjustment, it may be necessary to adjust the feet at diametrically opposite corners of the desk or table, or on two adjacent corners of the desk or table to bring the said desk or table top into horizontal position in which the desk or table is at the proper height, level and is stable.

When the required adjustment is made to the selected feet, all the nuts will, when the desk or table is in proper position, be housed or concealed in the adjacent recess 3 in the lower end of the respective guides with the nut abutting the inner wall of the recess. The adjustment of the feet takes only a few minutes to bring the desk or table top into the desired level position.

The guide 1 may be formed hollow in the interior, but there are essentially upper and lower walls and lateral walls chamfered at the top. The only benefit derived from making the guides 1 hollow is that they are easier to handle and lighter in weight.

What I claim as new is:

1. An adjustable foot comprising a guide having upper and lower walls and side walls, the upper edges of the side walls being chamfered, a vertical bore extending through the upper and lower walls and co-axial with the guide, the upper end of said bore being rectangular in shape, a recess in the lower wall concentric with the bore, a bolt having a rectangular upper end slidably and nonrotatably mounted in the bore, a nut threaded on the lower end of the bolt and adapted to be received in the recess in the lower wall, and a foot on the lower end of the bolt.

2. The adjustable foot claimed in claim 1 in which a cushion member is bonded to the lower face of the foot and underlies the foot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,956,368 Klein Oct. 18, 1960 3,031,689 Sark May 1, 1962 3,036,401 Sark May 29, 1962 3,041,777 Schwartz July 3, 1962 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE FOOT COMPRISING A GUIDE HAVING UPPER AND LOWER WALLS AND SIDE WALLS, THE UPPER EDGES OF THE SIDE WALLS BEING CHAMFERED, A VERTICAL BORE EXTENDING THROUGH THE UPPER AND LOWER WALLS AND CO-AXIAL WITH THE GUIDE, THE UPPER END OF SAID BORE BEING RECTANGULAR IN SHAPE, A RECESS IN THE LOWER WALL CONCENTRIC WITH THE BORE, A BOLT HAVING A RECTANGULAR UPPER END SLIDABLY AND NONROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE BORE, A NUT THREADED ON THE LOWER END OF THE BOLT AND ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED IN THE RECESS IN THE LOWER WALL, AND A FOOT ON THE LOWER END OF THE BOLT. 